Socioeconomic drivers of Polish seniors' tourism choices

The aim of the paper is to determine which socio-economic determinants influence seniors’ choice of tourism organizers. The study distinguished five basic types of tourism organizers: local travel agencies, senior clubs, parishes, nationwide travel agencies and foreign travel agencies. To answer the question of what the impact of selected socio-economic factors on seniors’ choice is, a survey among 1000 seniors living in the Lower Silesia region in Poland was conducted. Descriptive statistics were calculated, chi-square and Mann -Whitney U tests were performed, and binary logit models were created showing how socioeconomic variables affect the probability of using specified tourism organizer. The results show that seniors most often travel with senior clubs and least often with international travel agencies. The main factors affecting the choice of tourism organisers are income, education, age, professional status and family situation. Higher income is connected to the higher probability of travelling with a parish/ pilgrimage office or nationwide travel agency. Instead, those with lower income travel with senior clubs. Women often choose senior clubs, while men choose parish/pilgrimage offices as frequently as senior clubs. The percentage of those who use nationwide travel agencies decreases with age. However, the relationship is reverse for senior clubs.